Toy teeter-totter



April 17, 1934. A. E. PRINZ TOY TEETER-TOTTER Filed July ll, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l om at? l Ia MMM

A. E. PRINZ TOY TEETER April 17, 1934.

-TOTTER Filed July ll, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 17, 1934 UNITED STTS FATNT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to a novel toy for use by a relatively small child. The object of the invention is to provide a toy of such a nature that the child will be encouraged and delighted to take considerable exercise.

The toy is in the nature of a spring tester-totter and is provided with a feature which offers an element of surprise, delight and emulation desirable to encourage a somewhat continuous or lengthy use of the device.

The invention resides in a device made in the form of a seat which is yieldingly supported in position and which'when more or less suddenly forced down against the spring support will tend to elevate or force up a fanciful slide in front of the child. The elevation of the slide, which may carry a fanciful representation of a child or other object, causes surprise and tends to encourage further attempts to elevate the slide further and further.v

To the accomplishment of the above and other desired results theinvention consists in the means herein fully disclosed and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, the accompanying drawings, forming part of ,this specification, and the following description setting forth in detail one embodiment exemplifying the invention, such disclosed arrangements of parts and devices and combinations of parts constituting, however, but one of various applications of the principle of the invention.

In said drawings:-

Figure l is atop plan view of a play device made in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the device;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation;

Fig. 4 is a front View;

Fig. 5 is a vertical, longitudinal, central section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

1Fig. 6 is a horizontal section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a vertical, transverse section on the line 7 7 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is a detail vertical, transverse section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 9 is a plan elevation ci" the vertically movable member of the toy.

1n said drawings l0 is a suitable fiat base member. At one end of the base a flat support member 1l rises. This support member is preferably slightly springy, being made of a ila-t boardpreferably hardwood. This support is arranged at what may be termed the front end of the device. Extending back from the upper end of the member 11 is a flat seat member 12, substantially of equal length with the base member 10.

The forward end of the seat member is very securely fastened to the upper end of the support member, and the lower end of the support is very securely fastened to the forward end of the base member. The seat member l2 is also slightly springy.

The lower end of the support member is secured to a reinforcing corner block 13 by screws 14, and the block 13 is secured to the base l0 by screws l5. Likewise the forward end of the seat member is secured to a reinforcing corner block 16 by screws 17 and the upper end of the support 11 is secured to the corner block 16 by screws 18 and the corner connection is reinforced by a corner piece 19 of sheet metal, which overlies'the adjacent ends of the seat and support members and makes this connection of sufficient strength and rigidity to cause the several members to operate properly. i

The rear end of the seat member is provided with an upstanding guard 20 to prevent the child sliding off of the rear end of the seat when operating the toy.

The idea is that the toy is of such a height that when a child sits on the rear portion of the seat the childs legs will be slightly bent and its feet will rest on the floor, the base board 10 being cut away at each side as shown at 21 to let the childs feet rest on the floor.. When the child springs up and down on the seat, depressing the rear end as it goes down against the resiliency of the seat and the support and letting the seat rise again when the child stands up on its feet.

As a further means of strengthening the structure there is a resilient brace 22 provided.V This brace extends from the rear end of the base up to the reinforcing block 16 being entered into a slot 23 in the block and braced at its lower end against a stop-block 24 secured on the rear end of the base 10 by screws 25. The block 24 is provided with a notch 26 into which the rear end of the brace 22 enters. The engagement of the upper end of the brace 22 in the block causes the brace 22 to be sprung down in curved form when the rear end of the seat member 12 is pressed down as indicated in Fig. 5.

The support member 1l is provided at its lateral edges with vertical guides 27 which provide vertical guide grooves 28 in which a flat member 29 is moved vertically. This member 29 extends from the top of the seatV l2 down nearly to the base 10, and the idea is to cause this member to jump up in the guides 27 as the child springs the rear end of the seat down.

This is accomplished by an operating rod 30 which is threaded through a hole 31 in the diagonal brace 22, its rear end being pivotally secured to the lower end of a post 32 depending rigidly from the rear end of the seat 12.

The rod 30 extends in a downwardly-inclined direction from its pivoted rear end 33 through the hole 31 in the brace member 22, and its forward end 34 projects through a central vertical slot 35 provided in the support member 11 and beneath the lower end of the vertically movable member 29.

The action is as follows upon the depression of the rear end of the seat, the rear end of the rod 30 is lowered, as shown in dotted lines (Fig. 5) and the brace member 22 serves as a fulcrum to force the forward end 34 of the rod to rise and lift the member 29.

A more or less sharp or sudden depression of the seat imparts a more or less lifting action to the member 29 and causes it to rise to its limit. It is desirable to prevent the member 29 being forced up out of the guides 27, and for this purpose a stop-block 36 is secured to the back of the member by screws 37 after the member 29 has been placed in position. The stop 36 is arranged in the slot 35 and as the slot ends below the seat member, once the member 29 has been arranged in place and the stop 36 secured to it, the member 29 cannot be removed.

The forward end of the rod 22 is preferably protected by a rubber cap or cover 38.

The movable member 29, as best shown in Fig. 9, may have some fanciful picture on its rear face so that as it rises in front of a child on the device it will add to the delightful exercise of springing the seat up and down, the child being by this means encouraged to exercise harder than it would otherwise.

The device is quite light in weight and can be readily carried about from place to place, and it is very strong to withstand the strains of operation.

The cut-away portions 21 of the base permits the child to stand up straddle of the device and hold the device away from the floor and walk along with it to a new location.

The base is relatively thick and rigid while the support 11 and seat 12 are relatively thin and springy.

As many modifications of the invention will readily suggest themselves to one skilled in the art, I do not limit or conf-lne the invention to the specific details of structure or operation herein shown and described.

I claim:

l. In a device of the kind described, a base, a Vertical supporting member at one end of the base, a horizontally-arranged yielding seat board, yieldingly supported at one end at the top of the vertical member, and a yielding diagonal brace extending from the front end of the seat member rearwardly beneath same to the base of the device.

2. The invention as dened in claim l, a vertically-movable member guided on the vertical supporting member and adapted to be forced up above the seat, an operating member secured at g one end to the rear portion of the seat and eX- tending downwardly and forwardly therefrom, the vertical guide member having a vertical slot for receiving the forward end of the operating member, the operating member being fulcrumed on the diagonal brace member so that when the rear end of the seat is depressed the forward end of the operating member will lift the verticallymovable member.

3. In a childs play device of the kind del.,

of sight of a child sitting on the seat, and means operatively connecting the seat with the display device for lifting the display device into View when the seat is depressed.

AUGUST E. PRINZ. 

